Sweet Potato Teriyaki Burgers

As a vegetarian I naturally miss out on some things. Like burgers, for instance. Now, I totally don’t miss meat at all, but there’s just something to be said about a big, juicy burger that makes me a little drooly. But guess what? The joy of being meat free is that I’ve had to come up with a ton of creative replacements for my former favorites, and burgers are near the top of that list. I’ve made them all kinds of ways – with black beans, quinoa, tofu, chickpea, the list goes on, but none compares to the sweet potato burger. It’s kinda what I’m known for in real life. Making a kick butt sweet potato burger that is. I get complements all the time about how amazing they are, and how they must have taken forever to create, but I’ve got a secret I will let you in on: they are the simplest food I make. Seriously, give me a sweet potato, some bread crumbs and a spice rack and I’ll have four patties whipped up in a matter of minutes. And I totally have a secret ingredient. Want to know what it is? Read on for the recipe!

This recipe makes four large patties and will take you around 30 minutes to prepare. Here is what you need:

Two large sweet potatoes, cubed
One small white potato, cubed
1/3 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
black pepper to taste
Pretzel buns (or regular, your choice!)

The first thin you need to do is soften up your potatoes, so cut them up into small cubes, spread out on a baking sheet and pour a small amount of water on top of them. (Cooking them with water keeps them from drying out.) Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Once they are nice and soft, take them out and put them in a food processor along with your bread crumbs, teriyaki and pepper.

Pulse until well blended and then scoop your mixture out and form patties. Bake the patties at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes and serve on a bun with the toppings of your choice. Delicious, right?!

IB1A0703cool